


Famous Blue Raincoat

by ialpiriel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Banjo Player Castiel, Gen, Leonard Cohen - Freeform, Musician Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-09
Updated: 2014-03-09
Packaged: 2018-01-15 04:39:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1291675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ialpiriel/pseuds/ialpiriel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas is exiled from his and Meg's apartment for the night. He crashes at Benny's and they turn Leonard Cohen into a duet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Famous Blue Raincoat

**Author's Note:**

> Listen to the original song [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkSERbdl39Q).

It was nine o’clock and Cas was the only one still at Benny’s - Dean had work in the morning, and Sam and Kevin hade tests to study for. Meg excused herself on “personal business,” which Cas took as code for “don’t come back to the apartment tonight.” Benny had let Cas crash in the basement with his backpack and gig bag, and had told him he had free reign with the records and cassettes as long as he kept it down. Cas had put on a half dozen albums and begun to play along before he switched them out for another one.

He finally settled on a dusty album in the back of the milk crate - one with “LEONARD COHEN SONGS OF LOVE AND HATE” emblazoned across it. He flipped it to side two and let it play through the first song, nodding and tapping his foot along.

It clicked to the second song.

_It’s four in the morning_  
 _the end of December_  
 _I’m writing you now just to see if you’re better._  
 _New York is cold,_  
 _but I like where I’m living._  
 _There’s music on Clinton street all through the evening._

Cas picked up the melody quickly and plucked slowly along with the song. When it finished, he returned the needle to the beginning of the song and picked up the sleeve. He hummed along with the song a second time through, and then returned the needle to the beginning of the song. Someone came down the stairs, and when he looked over, Benny was standing in the stairwell, watching him.

"Forgot I had any Cohen. He’s an old one. Don’t get much play with the band. You know it?"

"I’m learning," Cas replied.

"Makes me think of you. Tan coat and all." Benny shrugged and grinned. Cas smiled back. "Lemme grab my guitar. We can turn it into a duet. Make Dean jealous." Benny chuckled.

Benny picked up his guitar and settled onto the couch next to Cas, who reset the song halfway through “Sing Another Song, Boys.” Benny began singing.

_It’s four in the morning_  
 _the end of December_  
 _I'm writing you now just to see if you're better_  
 _New York is cold,_  
 _but I like where I’m living._  
 _There’s music on Clinton street all through the evening._

Cas cut in, all the gravel in his voice he could manage.

_I hear that you’re building_  
 _your little house_  
 _deep in the desert._  
 _You’re living for nothing now_  
 _I hope you’re keeping some kind of record._  
 _Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair_  
 _She said that you gave it to her_  
 _That night that you planned to go clear_  
 _Did you ever go clear?_

Benny grinned as he picked up the next verse.

_Ah, the last time we saw you you looked so much older_  
 _Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder_  
 _You’d been to the station to meet every train_  
 _And you came home without Lili Marlene_  
 _And you treated my woman to a flake of your life_  
 _And when she came back she was nobody’s wife._

Cas laughed and sang the next few lines with gravel -

_Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth_  
 _One more thin gypsy thief_  
 _Well I see Jane’s awake —_  
 _She sends her regards._

and then as softly as he could-

_And what can I tell you my brother, my killer_  
 _What can I possibly say?_  
 _I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you_  
 _I'm glad you stood in my way._

He swallowed hard when he finished his lines. Benny gave him a tight smile and picked up where he left off.

_If you ever come by here,_  
 _be it for Jane or for me,_  
 _well your enemy is sleeping_ ,  
 _and his woman is free._  
 _Yes and thanks_  
 _for the trouble you took from her eyes._  
 _I thought it was there_  
 _for good_  
 _so I never tried._  
 _And Jane came by with a lock of your hair._  
 _She said that you gave it to her_  
 _That night that you planned to go clear._

"You gonna be alright, brother?" Benny asked as the song wound down. Cas had reached up to scrub at his eyes.

"Yeah. I’ll be fine. Thank for letting me stay the night, I think I’m going to sleep now. I’m tired. It’s been a long day."

"You need anything brother I’m right upstairs. Andrea’ll fix you a stiff drink if you ask ‘er nicely."

"I’ll be fine. I just need some sleep." Cas reached over and removed the needle from the record, and the record from the turntable. He put his banjo away and gave Benny a fake grin. Benny flashed him a smile back.

"Whatever you say. Try not to fall off the couch. There’s blankets and pillows in the closet, help yourself."

"Thank you."

They nodded at each other, and Benny got up to leave. Cas watched him go.


End file.
